Machine for molding concrete units



March 2, 1948. LA. E. RUEGG 2,437,003

` MACHINE FCR MCLDINC CONCRETE UNITS Filed Oct. 2l, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR lili/lill A AIITORNEY March 2 1948.T A. E. RUEGG 2,437,003

MACHINEv FOR MOLDING' CONCRETE UNITS FiledOct. 2l, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 MACHINE FOR Moollmo oms. Arthur Ernest Ruegg, Zurich, Switzerland Application October 21, 1941, Serial-No, In Switzerland Juli; 2L 19411r Section 3, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires July 27;; 1960,

5 Claims. l Various methods are known to-day Ifor the manufacture of concrete blocks and units of great streneftli.` According toY Sonie :of these methods, after the mold has been lled with concretev and suitable steel'reintorcement has been positioned in thefmold, the latter is subjected to vibration, while water and -air in the concrete, which areI freed tol an: increased extent by the Vibration, are Withdrawn by suction. An additional expedient to augment the action 1oi vibration andv suction, is a pressure means to subject the concrete4 in the mould to pressure,

With this method it has been made possible to manufacture concrete blocks and units for structural purposes, which, untill now, have exclusively been made yof steel or similar material, to rank equally in strength and permanence. On they other hand until now, the making of such concrete blocks or units has been very costlyy and irrational, as many particular operations were requiredior the finishing of such structural elements.

Without collateral explanations it is obvious, that the additional costs of these structural elements until the present made of :other materials, v'vere not based on the material costs, but on the circumstantial production methods. The, pur-1 poseof this invention is to find W oost mechanical manufacturing means, to produce such concrete vblocks and units at a lower price than here-l tofore made of other material, andoi a higher duality.

Theobject of this invention is a machineand Lwould for the manufacture of structuraly concrete, elements.

T hefmachine to producethese structural con-l crete, elements` according to this invention, has fory examples. hydraulically movable press-table, into whichthe concrete filled mould is moved, containing under the influence of a pressure means movable pistons, which, connected with the pressh-eads. fitting into steel sheet helmets formingpartnof themould, and that at least par-t of the-mould is under vibration by the action; of a vibrating mechanism, augmenting the action of the pressure. Y

According to the invention the arrangement is such, that the inould is first pressed between presstable andv presshead, following which the steel sheet hehnets are pressed into the mould by the hydraulically operated pistons diminishing thereby thelmouldrcontents, causing the displacement of air and Water., its Withdrawal asf-f sisted by suction chambers larrai'lged around the mould and connected to a suction line. Out-- Wards, the ,mould can appropriatelyA be made airtight and becornbinedA with a system of ducts oooiootllls tllslsslslsof. tesmoulowish/ the sus? tionpump."

The pistons of the presstable can be connected prose hoaoLr Tlloamgrlosmte.. is, about,

The emiroclimsntv ofl unieron-tion or Way ofv an esempio lo the sooornpanrina ings for themalslne of autres sleepers Ela. l, lonsitlldllnl. session; ofa sloopsr- Eiss- 2 I and 3; its cross-section sul?, and (2e-l2..

Fis.. aisoslolaevlowfqf a r 'luosslooo Fig'- is alorlsltuolinal: so. oi the. moulslf..

Fig?, 6,y is s,- orosssostlort` of; the :stellstY Eielp'?.v is o, sills-:elem on oistoolishoot lssls met,"

Fia Bis-lts osossesootlon,

Fig 9. a sido` elevation of a Prosslioad with pistons,

Eig.v l()v isfits cross-sleotio'n,-

Fle- 11: isf enlarged soolo, orosssssoliorlofE thev rrioulu, stool shoot. helmet and prosshsaos,

Fig.A 124sI slollglt,1.1. l.i.1.1alsootion,I off the With the mould, placed, in: position,`

Fie. 13is-a partial,- oross-rsootiouot thoaloovo,

Fle-` lfl` is this pressure. controlling. tho of'ylllldolis of the orosshooosf Thevv shape of therailway sleeper (Fig.,1). is; in its outward appearanceadaptelvfrom the steel railway Sloepen "Thefurllorfsslleg lis oavitios.l2A dividedv by, Cross; ribs.. 3,. The slots 4f sorrextho; fostering 'of thofrallfsslsoiogf platos-1. Elss- 55 and Sposo oomoosodjoitho boss plato 5, tbosldos 6, the oovsr l, the ondlpiooes-l and thofholloot shoved mombrs 9, lll sollt, lll! the oovorf. orofslots l2.,-fo.1 the admissi of.tlio-oo1rosvv llov which conseil-Slots 4m l tho-:naamw sleeper. 'lhol Coros '2r-ia produoingtllo slots fin the sleeper;` aro-fastened@.the-steolfsllootholmonts 9s lll. ao; Il and are pushed up with them throwuglqi:r the slots |12. The recesses I3` admit the,` vibrating hammers f l ,4,1 (Ela, 1,1? 'Is'hofbeso slots-f lisinocessed into the press-tabloid and-,the cover plate? l enters loto arooossfof the; Gross hoort los, oovorv plots lsvfostoood loolts lli. (Ela 1..,1); springt-blessed' by r-,llobo rines; l

- Y C11-ll; outofselnV into the fosso,- plaio 5; irs-soot; that the-yf oromovalolo in;avontloalldirectioru Thesehei-l motsfharo slots. L9; for thefpassaees er air and; All.othermouldsans.` such..asstinenwi11d-tlv sides, the cover and the base plates, have also apertures 20x, connecting the inside of the mould with the suction channels 2| which are through a suction pipe connected to a vacuum pump. The mould is made airtight towards the outside 'by p'ackings 23 so that the concrete is under vacuum through the sucking laction of the vacuum pump. The inside of mould walls are covered with cloth 24, attached by rubber strips held in the grooves 25. This cloth will allow the passage of air and water, but not of concrete. The pressheads 26 have grooves 21 connecting to :a collecting groove 28. Excess air rand water freed through the slots of the helmets 9, l and il moves through the grooves 21 into the collecting groove 28 and from there through the apertures 29 into the channel 30 of the base-plate 5, which is in turn connected to the suction main. Provisions are made for a packing 30 to prevent cement slurry from passing downwards. The pressheads 2B are connected to the pistons 3l with bolts 32. The pistons 3ll slide in the cylinder 33 Ibored into the press-table l 5, Downwards the cylinders are enclosed. Upwards the pistons 3l are made pressure tight by means of the flanges 34, the packing 35 and the stufng box glands 36. Boreholes 31 connect the cylinders 34 to a pressure manifold 38 with the pressure means. Two further press cylinders 39 are bored into the presstable I5. The plungers 40 are fastened to the base plate 4l with the bolts 42. These cylinders are also, by way of the bore holes 43, joined through a main to the pressure source. The press table l5 is forced upwards by the pressure means as the plungers 4E) can not withdraw downwards. The cross head I6 is fastened to the groundplate 4l by the pillars 44, which also serve as a sliding guide for the presstable I5. The vibrating hammers 40, its motive source not described closer, place part of the mould under vibration at a high frequency.

To prevent the pressheads from moving upwards unevenly, and to become tilted as a sequence of variable resistance, the feedline to the pistons is controlled in such manner, that as long as the presshead 26 remains horizontal, the feeding apertures to the two cylinders are left uniformly open, at the instant one piston advances further than the other, its pressure supply is throttled down. A control for this purpose is schematically shown by way of an example in Fig. 14.

In the middle :of the pressheads, between the two plungers 3l and the presshead 26, a rod is vertically fastened, its lower end is with the levers 50 of two discpvalves 5l and with the rods 52 connected. The disc valves have slot-shaped passages 53. These slotted passages are wider than the also slot-shaped outlets of the inlet pipe and are set to one side of them. In turning the disc-valves in the same direction, the tilted position of the presshead will be leveled, the aperture of the one valve closed while the other remains open.

The procedure of operations is as follows:

After the form is filled and the reinforcingwires 45 in position, pre-stressed with the tensioning tool 41, the mould is placed into the recesses of the table I5, while at its lowest position. The pressure manifold leading to the press cylinders 39, is opened. The table is lifted, the coverplate 1 is thrust into the mould, closing it. At the same time the mould is pressed against the cross head I6, closing it up tight by means of the packings 23. Now the vibrators are set in motion, the suction main leading to the dr` channels 2| of the mould, is opened. The pressure manifold leading to the cylinders 23 is simul- A taneously opened, causing the pistons 3l to be forced upwards. These n-ow press the pressheads 26 into the helmets 9, I0 and ll and these into the contents :of the mould. Excess water .and air is forced through the openings of the mould walls aided by the vacuum and sucked away. By reversing the pressure medium onto the counterpressure area of the upper cylinders, the pressheads are'withdrawn from the moulded article and mould.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An arrangement for making concrete blocks and otherunits, comprising in combination, a mold including a displaceable cover adapted to close the top yof the mold and steel helmets movably inserted into and forming part of its bottom, a hydraulic press including a stationary crosshead adapted to cooperate with said mold cover, a movable press plate adapted to support the 1bottom of said mold, press heads displaceable relative to said press plate to engage into said steel helmets, and means to displace successively said press plate to press the cover on the mold and saidV press heads to advance said steel helmets into the mold, means to vibrate at least part of said mold during the pressure operation, suction means and a suction manifold connecting said suction means with openings provided in the walls of said mold, said openings being of a size to permit the air and water eliminated from the concrete mixture in said mold by vibration and pressure to escape from said mold through said openings while the entire mass of concrete is retained in the mold.

2. An arrangement, `as claimed in claim 1, including means to seal the mold, during the operation of the press against the influx of air from the outside so that the setting :of the concrete is effected under vacuum.

3. An arrangement, as claimed in claim 1, including pistons on which said press heads are mounted, said pistons being movable in cylindrical bor-ings formed in the press table to displace said press heads.

4. An arrangement, as claimed in claim 1, including a b-ase plate and pistons mounted rigidly on said base plate, said pistons being movable in cylindrical borings formed in said press table to displace the latter.

5. An arrangement, as claimed in claim 1, in which said p-ress table and press heads include pistons operated from a common source of pressure uid, 4and means are provided to shut off the pressure fluid from any piston which ls displaced at a greater speed than the corresponding pistons of the same group.

ARTHUR ERNEST RUEGG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

- UNITED STATES PATENTS Ruegg Apr. 9, 1940 

